In fact, if the confident demeanor of the paddling warriors in the
canoes were destined to be justified, the big steamer was in parlous
state. Her vast bulk and sheer walls of steel did not daunt them.
They came on steadily against the rapid current, and spread out into a
crescent when within a few hundred yards of the ship. Then three men,
crouching in the bows of different canoes, produced rifles hitherto
invisible and began to shoot. The bullets ricochetted across the
ripples, and Courtenay saw that the savages did not understand the
sighting appliances. They were aiming point-blank at the vessel, in so
far as they could be said to aim at anything, and the low trajectory
caused the first straight shot to rebound from the surface of the water
and strike a plate amidships. The loud clang of the metal was hailed
by the Alaculofs with shouts of delight. Probably they had no fixed
idea of the distance the tiny projectiles would carry. Joey began to
bark furiously, and the Indians imitated him. The hammer-like blow of
the bullet, the defiance of the dog, and the curiously accurate yelping
of the men in the canoes, mixed in wild medley with the volleyed echoes
of the firing now rolled back from the opposing cliffs.
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